


Reflection

by K (Thiswasmydesign)



Series: Wammy's House Series [4]
Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga), Death Note: Another Note
Genre: Gen, Near's insecurities, Wammy House, Wammy's Era, fluff with a very minimal side of evil, prompt - beauty, prompt - eyes, prompt - mirror, prompt - reflection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-02-24
Packaged: 2019-03-23 07:51:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13783068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thiswasmydesign/pseuds/K
Summary: Near doesn't like mirrors. Mello's a vain little child. He's also very cute when he's 5.





	Reflection

**Author's Note:**

> prompts - mirror, reflection, eyes, beauty

Mello’s room was _full_ of mirrors. Every wall had a mirror on it. Mello liked mirrors.

Near didn’t like looking in the mirror.

Mello called him pretty. But Mello was nice.

Other people weren’t nice.

Near was _different_. He had known that was bad even before he knew what _different_ meant.

It meant not the same. It meant the odd one out. Strange. Weird. Wrong.

Near liked his white hair. He didn’t mind that his hair was different. If it had just been his hair, he’d have liked it.

Near had pink eyes.

_Albino_ Wammy called it.

_Ugly_ Bully Backup called it.

_Different_ even nice people would say.

Near didn’t want to be different. Near wanted to fit in.

He had never fit in. Not at home with mummy, not at preschool, not even at Wammy’s house. Even at Wammy’s house, Near was _different_.

He had asked for a set of goggles like Matt’s, but they had been too tight and they had left red rings around his eyes. Mello had taken them away. Mello didn’t like them. He said they made Near look less pretty.

Near had let him take them. He wanted to be pretty for his friend.

Mello might get bored of him if he wasn’t pretty.

He did some research – he was learning how, now, at Wammy’s house. Matt was teaching him. Matt was clever, too, and he was nice – nice like Wammy, not nice like Mello. Mello was extra nice. Especially to Near.

Near asked Wammy if he could get contact lenses. They could be colourful – they could be normal. They could be brown, or green, or blue like Mello’s.

Near liked Mello’s eyes. He wanted blue eyes, too.

Wammy told him he couldn’t get them. He told him that he had to be _eight years old_ to get contact lenses. That was a whole _double_ his age! He couldn’t even imagine waiting that long.

So, Near didn’t like mirrors.

But Mello liked mirrors.

Mello called Near pretty, but Near didn’t believe him. Near wasn’t pretty, but Mello was.

Everyone called Mello pretty. Of course, some of them called him ‘pretty but stupid’ or just ‘pretty stupid’, but Near knew they were wrong, so that was okay. Mello was pretty, and clever, and nice.

Near liked Mello. Mello was the only friend Near had ever had.

Mello was pretty, so Mello liked mirrors. Mello was pretty, and nice, and brave. Mello looked after him, and protected him from Bully B, and made sure he was happy.

Near had one place in Mello’s room where he couldn’t see himself in the mirror. When he went to play in Mello’s room, he would stay there when Mello and Matt were playing.

Mello was clever. Mello understood Near even when Near didn’t say anything.

One month after Near arrived, Mello got rid of all but one of the mirrors from his room.


End file.
